Why Printable Montessori Continent 3-Part Cards Are Effective (English, Chinese, Korean)
Although geography has a reputation of being dry and boring, we discovered the secret to making continents fun for kids. I call it the “continent c’s”: consistent colors and captivating context. Montessori 3-part continent cards follow this brilliant color-coding system that’s used across their world maps and globes.
Then comes the best part: we bring these land masses to life with stories, history, people, animals, and languages.
And according to my kids, coloring the continents is fun, too!
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Montessori continents 3-part cards (Chinese, Korean, English)
Our printable Montessori continents 3-part cards are available in our family’s 3 languages, English, Chinese, and Korean! They’ve been carefully designed to be the perfect size for little hands. In each language version, the words are large and readable.
I’ll share tips on how to make the most of the Montessori continent printables to help your child or student build a love of learning!
What’s the meaning behind Montessori continent colors?
As with all Montessori learning materials, the continents follow consistent colors.
With a standard reference, kids start to associate continent names with certain colors. This helps them memorize the location and names of the 7 continents!
Montessori continent colors and translations in English, Chinese, Korean
Here’s a list of the standard Montessori continent colors.
For families who are learning a new language with their kids, I’ve also translated color and continent names in simplified Chinese, traditional Chinese, Hanyu Pinyin, and Korean.
- Orange: North America
- 北美洲 (Běi měizhōu)
- 북미 (Bugmi)
- Pink: South America
- 南美洲 (Nán měizhōu)
- 남미 (Nammi)
- Green: Africa
- 非洲 / 非洲 (Fēizhōu)
- 아프리카 (Apeulika)
- Red: Europe
- 欧洲 / 歐洲 (Ōuzhōu)
- 유럽 (Yuleob)
- Yellow: Asia
- 亚洲/ 亞洲 (Yàzhōu)
- 아시아 (Asia)
- Brown: Oceania or Australia
- 大洋洲 (Dàyángzhōu) or 澳洲/澳洲 (Àozhōu)
- 호주 (Hoju)
- White: Antarctica
- 南极洲 / 南極洲 (Nánjízhōu)
- 남극 대륙 (Namgeug daelyug)
Why Montessori 3-part cards are brilliant for kids
Each set of Montessori continent cards consist of 3 parts that can be displayed in a divided stand, tray, or folder. The 3 parts are:
- Continent picture
- Label (the continent’s name)
- Control card with picture and label together
Since the concept of continents are pretty abstract for a young child, we first focused on picture matching and recognizing the Montessori colors of each continent.
I also created a black-and-white version of the 3-part cards. These are perfect for coloring. Like most kids, mine love to color, so I knew this interactive version would capture their interest!
Gradually, my son learned the continent names and recognized the Chinese characters. Then he was ready to try matching the continent names.
Download Montessori maps and 3-part continent cards
Other supplies for the Montessori 3-part continent cards
- Color printer
- White cardstock paper
- Paper trimmer or scissors
- Optional: laminator and laminating pouches (consider for durability)
Ways to make geography and continents interesting for kids
Montessori Animals of the World and Map
We highly recommend using the continent cards after starting with our Montessori Animals and Continents Printable Pack (Chinese, Korean, English). According to my son, the Montessori animal activity is “the most fun!” 🙂
Montessori maps and globes
Because kids need to see where the continents are in the world, our Montessori globe and Montessori felt world map have been a big help.
Stories about real people history, culture, food, and languages
We love making friends with different cultural backgrounds! But in our small, homogenous town, much of our diversity comes from books in our library.
When we read picture books that celebrate Asians and Asian Americans, we point out the yellow continent card and talk about the incredible diversity among the 48 countries. For example, Chinese New Year (春节 / 春節 / Chūnjié) and Korean New Year (설날 Seollal) are Lunar New Year celebrations that occur on the same day but with different cultural traditions.
Same goes for Africa when we read stories about Black history in English and Chinese. My kids remember the green continent card while learning about the uniqueness of different countries.
Cooking, eating, and reading books about delicious food are also great times to talk about the continents around the world!
How to organize and displaying Montessori 3-part cards with a folder
To make the cards attractive and accessible for my preschooler, the 3-part cards displayed in a small wooden card stand.
However, I also made folder templates that you can download, print, and use with other Montessori 3-part cards from our website! The folder template is included with the Montessori maps and 3-part continent cards!
Get the Montessori maps and 3-part cards here
More fun geography resources for kids:
- Montessori Geography Printables and Hands-On Materials for Kids
- 6 Geography World Map Atlas Books in Chinese and English
What did your child think of the Montessori continents 3-part cards?
If you try this activity, please let us know in the comments below! What age(s) are your kid(s) and how did it go? We’d love to hear about your learning experience!
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